In a way, the 2013 season has been a confusing one for LeSean McCoy. He has led the NFL in rushing yards since the very first week of the season, when he exploded for 184 yards against Washington. But McCoy has also eclipsed the 100-yard mark in a game just once since Week 3, when he rushed for 116 yards against Tampa Bay on October 13. In the Eagles' other five games since the third week of the season, McCoy has averaged just 53.2 yards per game on the ground.
The individual numbers haven't been great recently for McCoy, but as long as his team is coming away with wins, which was the case against Oakland on Sunday, McCoy doesn't care much for personal glory.
"I'm not frustrated," McCoy explained. "I'm just (thinking about) from the last game and we won the game. We didn't run the ball much, but we were scoring and striking every time that we had the ball. I wasn't frustrated with the carries or the yardage … You can't really worry about that type of stuff. I think the individual yards will come out at the end, but the biggest thing is winning. I'd rather be winning than having a ton of yards. Plus, I still lead the NFL in rushing so I can't be that (upset)."
Teams have been making a concerted effort all season long to take away McCoy and the rest of the Eagles running attack. After all, that's what Chip Kelly's offense was thought to be built upon. Opposing defenses have had an even greater focus on McCoy since Michael Vick was taken out of the picture with his hamstring injury and replaced by Nick Foles, who is much more of a pocket passer. However, the Eagles were able to exploit the Raiders defense whenever they brought extra men into the box to stop the run on Sunday.
According to McCoy, the Eagles must continue to take advantage of whatever the defense is giving them as they move forward.
"We can tell that they have the extra guy in the box and we've seen a lot of one (safety) high (looks) and a lot of man coverage and things like that," McCoy said. "They're really biting on the play-fakes. They're trying to do as much as possible to stop the run, but like I said before, that's when we're going to try to take our shots and use our quick game to the sidelines and over the top and other things that you saw last week. It's just a matter of what you really want (to stop)."
The Packers have been very good at stuffing the run this season, ranking fifth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (94.5). B.J Raji, Ryan Pickett and Johnny Jolly compose a defensive line that has not been easy to run on, yet McCoy believes that he can get things back on track this Sunday.
"I feel comfortable heading into this week that we'll be able to run the ball a little bit more," McCoy said confidently. "We threw the ball so well last game that a team will have to play us honest now, with the way that Nick is playing and performing."
Will the Packers be keying in on the Eagles running game on Sunday afternoon? Fans will have to wait to see. But if they do, McCoy knows that opportunities will be created for other teammates to make the big play.
"When they try to stop the run, guys are making so many different plays, and I think for now on we'll see more honest types of defensive looks," McCoy said. "They're trying to stop the run so much, that they're leaving so much open, and you can only be happy about that."
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